Overview about Low Back Pain:
Nearly everyone experiences lower back pain at some point in their lives. The pain can range from mild to severe. For most, it’s temporary. But long-lasting chronic lower back pain is also common — up to 23% of adults worldwide have chronic lower back pain. In extreme cases, lower back pain can make it difficult or impossible to walk, sleep, work or do everyday activities.
Low Back Pain Definition by WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) :
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), low back pain (LBP) is pain that occurs between the lower edge of the ribs and the buttock. It can be acute, sub-acute, or chronic, and can affect anyone. LBP can make it difficult to move and can impact quality of life and mental well-being.
What is Acute Low Back Pain ?
Acute low back pain is most often caused by a sudden injury to the muscles and ligaments supporting the back .The pain may be caused by muscle spasm or a strain or tear in the muscles and ligaments . causes of sudden low back pain include : Compression fractures of the spine (often due to osteoporosis)
What is Chronic Low Back Pain?
Chronic low back pain is defined as low back pain lasting for longer than 12 weeks or 3 months ,even after an initial injury or underlying cause of acute low back pain has been treated .CLBP develops in roughly 5% to 10% of low back pain cases.
Causes of low back pain at a young age ?
Back pain in young people both female and male can have many causes, including:
Muscle strain: This is the most common cause of back pain in children and adolescents. It can be caused by physical activity, such as sports, or by lifting something heavy or improperly.
Poor posture: This can lead to back pain, especially if a child is carrying a heavy backpack.
Overuse: Intensive training, such as in dance or gymnastics, can lead to back pain.
Sedentary lifestyle: Children who don't move much may have weak core muscles or back strain from being overweight. Scoliosis: A lateral curvature of the spine that can cause back pain, especially in adolescent girls.
Spondylolysis: A weakness in the bony bridges of the vertebral bones that can cause low back pain.
Infections: Infections of the spinal bones or discs can cause back pain.
Slipped discs: A less common cause of back pain.
Herniated disc: A protrusion of the gel-filled discs that protect the spine can affect nearby nerves and cause pain.
Common causes of Low Back Pain at Older age :
Back pain in older adults can have many causes, including:
Degenerative conditions
Aging can lead to the breakdown of the discs between the vertebrae, which can cause conditions like degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.
Osteoarthritis :which is caused by the wear and tear of cartilage, is also a common cause of back pain in older adults.
Mechanical or structural problems
These can include a herniated disc, which occurs when a disc compresses a nerve, or a sprain, which is an injury to the ligaments that support the spine.
Infections
Infections can cause back pain, and can spread from another source or be caused by direct inoculation.
Mental health conditions
Depression and anxiety can cause physical discomfort, including back pain.
Other risk factors
Other Causes of Back pain include at elder age include :
Traumatic injuries, like whiplash
Inflammatory conditions, like ankylosing spondylitis
Metabolic issues
Referred pain from inflammation of visceral organs
Postural issues from spending too much time sitting upright
Congenital conditions
Primary Symptoms of Low Back pain?
Pain : A dull ache , Sharp pain , or a tingling sensation or burning sensation.
Radiating Pain : Pain that spreads to other areas of the body such as the leg , buttocks or sometimes at the abdomen .
Movement Restriction : Low back pain limits your ability to move such as walking or standing for a longer duration , side turning at bed , forward bending e.t.c
Other Symptoms : Weakness in the legs or feet ,loss of balance , or co-ordination , numbness or tingling in the limbs or stiffness in the morning .
Less common Symptoms : Unintentional weight loss ,fever or lack of bowel control
Red flags are possible indicators of serious spinal pathology:
Unexplained weight loss .
Bladder and bowel dysfunction .
History of carcinoma .
Loss of sensation and weakness of lower limbs (legs).
Disturbed gait or saddle anesthesia ( Loss of sensation in the buttocks, genital area, bladder, and rectum. This can include being unable to feel pain, touch, temperature, or vibration in these areas. )
An advanced Low back pain assessment procedures by Team B2LCARE.COM includes :
History Taking : The diagnosis of low back pain requires a careful history to determine whether the causes are mechanical, or secondary and more threatening. Mechanical causes of acute low back pain include dysfunction of the musculoskeletal and ligamentous structures. Pain can originate from the disc, annulus, facet joints and muscle fibres. Mechanical low back pain generally has a favorable outcome, but back pain with a secondary cause requires treatment for the underlying condition.
Fortunately, secondary causes of low back pain are much less frequent than mechanical causes. An important consideration in the patient's history is age. Patients older than 50 and younger than 20 are more likely to have secondary causes.
Physical exam: The physical examination is not as important as the history in identifying secondary causes of acute low back pain. Nevertheless, certain aspects of the physical examination are considered important.
Range of Motion Examination : The examiner should record the patient's forward flexion, extension, lateral flexion and lateral rotation of the upper torso. Pain with forward flexion is the most common response and usually reflects mechanical causes. If pain is induced by back extension, spinal stenosis should be considered. Unfortunately, the evaluation of spinal range of motion has limited diagnostic use, although it may be helpful in planning and monitoring treatment.
PALPATION OR PERCUSSION OF THE SPINE : Point tenderness over the spine with palpation or percussion may indicate fracture or an infection involving the spine. Palpating the paraspinous region may help delineate tender areas or muscle spasm.
Special tests: Some special tests include SLR , SLUMP TEST ,helps us to diagnose more specifically and errorless.
Others EXCLUSIVE test for better assessment of your low back :
Postural assessment : Postural assessment as part of the screening process is relevant as there is evidence of correlations between injury and posture.Abnormal postures can influence muscle function and over or less activity of muscles can cause low back pain.
EMG Biofeedback : EMG biofeedback is the most advanced machine to measure accurate muscle power and endurance .EMG BIOFEEDBACK is one of most functioning assessment equipment for athletics .
Know several choices of low back pain physiotherapy treatment at B2LCARE.COM_Pain management unit for low back discomfort ?
The low back joint is one of the major responsible joints in the body that is responsible for walking, climbing stairs, hiking ,trekking , or playing various types of out field games and for the elderly rising from a seated position low back joint plays a key role . So inactivity due to low back pain could be associated with the presence of depression or anxiety also .
Most advanced options for low back physiotherapy treatment in B2LCARE.COM includes
Electrotherapy: UST, IFT , TENS are various electrotherapy options used to treat low back pain for reducing pain , swelling and inflammation .
Cupping therapy : Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine where a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. The idea is to draw blood to or away from parts of your body. People get it for many reasons, such as pain and inflammation relief, relaxation and well-being. For low back pain it works much better for reducing muscle tightness or muscle cramp surrounding the low back joint .
Cupping therapy being administered for low back pain relief and muscle relaxation. Kinesiology Taping : low back taping is a practice that’s used to relieve low back pain. It’s also done to improve low back support, which may treat and prevent various injuries.The practice involves applying special tape around the low back. The tape is placed on specific locations, which is said to manage pain by controlling muscles and joints.
Postural correction: When your posture is incorrect, your weight distribution can be unevenly distributed, causing extra strain on certain areas of your body, including your low backs.Additionally, if your posture is incorrect, it can affect the alignment of your body, causing your low backs to twist or rotate improperly.So postural correction is one of primary preventive measurements for low back pain .
A chiropractor performs an adjustment on a patient to alleviate low back pain, observed by colleagues in a clinical setting. Exercise therapy : Exercise therapy includes mainly Resistive training , Progressive Resistive Training or circuit training ,Exercise therapy helps to increase individual muscle’s endurance and strength .
We Strengthen others joint muscle along with low back joint’s muscle to help us protect our low back joint from injury while falling or twisting .
Joint manipulation or Chiropractic : It is hypothesis that manual therapy improves function of the kinetic chain (joints and soft tissue) by a combination of mechanical and Neuromuscular mechanisms.
A physical therapist uses a controlled force to move a joint through its full range of motion, which can help with pain, stiffness, and joint function. This technique often produces a popping or cracking sound as gas bubbles are released from the joint.
Joint manipulation can help with low back pain by improving joint lubrication, increasing circulation, and reducing inflammation.
While joint manipulation is generally safe when performed by a qualified practitioner, it may not be appropriate for everyone. A proper assessment by physiotherapist consultation with a healthcare professional is recommended before beginning treatment.
7.Clinical yoga : Clinical yoga is basically a variety of yogasana ,which is used in various clinicals varieties . After suppressing acute pain we used clinical yoga therapy to keep the low back flexible and healthy .
8.Running Gait and agility Re-training for runners or athletics : While strength training is effective in improving muscle strength, it is not sufficient to improve running mechanics. The use of gait or running retraining is used with a specific approach of the motor pattern that is likely to reduce the tissue stress and pattern of stress distribution from one joint to another joint.Which cause less stress over spinal muscles and vertebrae .
For more better understanding we are providing a free phone discussion with Dr Suvradeep Ganguly (PT) for 15 minutes .
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